To Wyoming
by miss-milkbone
Summary: Tommy is in need of a new mechanic while Joel suggests Bill. They drive to Lincoln and try to convince him to leave with them to Wyoming. What will they do once they get there? Bill/Joel slash eventually. Don't read if you don't like. Requested by anonymous.


It's been a year and a few months since Joel and Ellie's last visit to Lincoln.

They borrowed a working car from Tommy's, and they drove smoothly along the road in the rain. "Goddamnit." Ellie swore, and she sighed. "Why do we have to bring him with us? Can't we just find some other dude?"

"Because Bill's our only choice. We need more mechanics, and we ain't just gonna go out and try to find some random stranger. Besides, he's.. all alone. I wouldn't be surprised if we got there and the man's gone crazy by now."

"Then why are we even trying, Joel? The guy's probably dead or infected by now." Joel just shook his head and kept his eyes on the road. "I doubt it. Bill's too smart for that." He cringed when the thought of Bill as a Runner or Clicker passed his mind.

"Yeah, he was pretty smart when he kept running around and makin' a fuckton of noise."

Joel shifted in his seat trying to get comfortable, "Ellie. Just ignore him, okay? That's just how Bill is." She responded with a sigh. The rest of the drive was extremely quiet as Joel just kept his concentration on the road. They left early yesterday morning, and Lincoln was only a few miles away, thanks to hours of constant driving.

He knew it'd be a struggle to try to convince Bill to come with them. The man was so attached to his town, he always complained to him and Tess about how he couldn't wait to get back.

He could never understand it, why he was in such a hurry to get home. The place was infested with infected, not to mention it was trashed, lonesome, and creepy.

He always claims about how it's better off alone, but Joel knew that wasn't true. Bill was a very sad and lonely person and he knew it. He was very a broken man, he imagined it being worse after what happened to Bill's 'partner'. He never really thought about Bill until recently. He should have invited him to come with from the start, but his mission with Ellie convinced him otherwise.

It would've been... Pretty different with Bill.

(Lincoln, 25 miles)

Joel sighed in relief as they passed the town welcoming sign and continued driving down the road. By now the rain passed but the ground was still fresh with puddles of rainwater. They were almost there.

He knew Ellie was getting bored too, she was leaning against her window reading her comic, Savage Starlight issue number #6 for the what, 7th time? Why the hell did she only bring one copy?

"We're almost there Ellie, so don't worry. Bill probably has more comics to read on the way back." Ellie groaned, "If he lets me have them.. Damn, he's gonna be pissed seeing me again!" She laughed, "After I took his precious magazine. Too bad I don't have it to give it back." Joel shook his head and chuckled. "Why did it have men in it anyway?" She said, looking over to him curiously.

"Um.. Let's just say Bill has a different taste." He said with an awkward chuckle. He hoped he wouldn't have to explain it to her.

Ellie frowned in confusion, "I thought guys liked women. I've never heard of a guy liking another guy before."

"Well," Joel said, "Many guys do like women, but some like men. It's.. A bit different, but it's nothin' to look down on."

"Kinda weird if you ask me," says Ellie, looking out the window at the forest. "Hey, how did you meet Bill anyway? Was he a friend before the outbreak?"

"No, I didn't know him before the outbreak. It was about 11 years ago. Way back then when me and Tess were back at the Quarantine zone in Boston. We were hired as smugglers. We smuggled guns, alcohol, you name it, all different items that people asked us to sneak in for a good price."

"Then how did you meet him? Was he a smuggler too?"Joel nodded, "Yeah, he was our first partner. Tess introduced me to him-.." He cut off, and laughed a bit. "Yeah, I uh.. Didn't know he was the guy at first, so I kinda attacked him." Ellie couldn't help but laugh. "Really? What'd he do?"

"He was pretty damn mad." He remembers he attacked him with a dagger, and Tess was yelling at him to stop. Bill violently pushed him off and gave him a ear full. He had a few cuts and bruises, but they were past that now.

"Tess stopped you, right?" She said. She was still smiling, anything about Bill getting beat up was funny to her.

"Yeah. We didn't like each other at first but then he began to get used to me. It's just like you and him. Bill's a good guy, you both just got off to a bad start."

"I was being friendly, I held my hand out to shake first. He's the one who handcuffed me!"

"Yeah, I know," Joel said, "He's just paranoid. He's probably fine now. We'll just bring him with us back to Tommy's and we won't have to come back here again." Ellie fixed her bangs while looking in the side mirror. "Let's just hope we can fit him in here."

_-_  
_(They pull into town, Joel notices a cloud of smoke rising from the chimney of a building nearby.)_  
_-_

Joel parked the car, getting out cautiously with a pistol drawn to make sure the area was clear of infected.

Ellie hopped out of the car, and inhaled the fresh, air. It was damp and moist from the rain, and it gave off a nice natural scent. "Finally, we're here!" She with a smile as she stretched.

"Let's just find Bill and get the hell out of here."

After a few minutes of walking and sight seeing, they immediately recognized Sammy's Diner. 'That's the building we met Bill in last time..' Joel thought to himself.

"Bill?" Joel called out towards the building. He hoped his voice wouldn't attract any infected. He walked towards the building, "Bill?" He repeated as he tried to open the door. It was locked, so Joel started shaking the knob. "It's Joel! Bill!"

"Goddamnit, I'm coming!" A voice yelled from inside. Joel sighed. Well, he was home.

He heard a click and the old wooden door was yanked open quite angrily. Bill stepped out and stared at Joel. He was wielding a gun, so he might've thought it was someone else or infected banging on the door. "What the fuck do you want, Joel? I thought I told you to get the fuck out." He growled.

"You said to 'get the fuck out of your town.' You never said we couldn't come back.

Ellie crossed her arms, a few feet behind Joel. She was holding back a nasty remark, but she didn't want to make the situation any worse.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Joel said as he stared at Bill. He was all dirty, his hair was matted and extremely messy. Not to mention the horrible attitude, he looks like he hadn't slept in days. "What?"

"You look terrible. When's the last time you looked in a mirror and thought to yourself that you looked healthy?" Joel said as he began to walk in. Ellie tried her best to hold back a laugh. Bill gave her a surprisingly vicious look.

Bill turned to Joel, scowling. "What the hell are you doing here, Joel? And why the fuck is she still with you? Weren't you gonna hand her over to the fireflies?"

Joel paused as he thought back to Marlene. "No, but that's not the point. Look Bill.."

"Well you better explain fuckin' fast because I'm damn busy." He said irritably as he studied the map on the table.

He leaned against the counter of the bar, glancing down at a few empty bottles. "Okay, I'll get right to it. Er.. Tommy, my brother, wanted to see if you wanted to come live with us back in Wyoming."

Bill scoffed, "And what in god's name makes you think I'm gonna do that? I'm fine here-"

At that, Joel protested, "No you're not."

"What-"

"Bill. Listen to me, there's nothing for you here. Tommy needs more mechanics," At this, Bill turned around, rolling his eyes. "Here we go."

"And when I told him about you, he offered you come stay with us. He has a big town, plenty of people-he even has electricity."

Bill had his hand on his forehead, obviously annoyed, but by the look on his face he was thinking about the request. "Tell me three good reasons to go."

"Huh?"

"You heard me." Bill said, "Give me three very good reasons to do this- and I _might_ consider it."

He could think of so many damn reasons. "Bill, you're all alone here. One of these days you're gonna end up dead. By looking at you right now, I can tell it's getting pretty shitty. Over at Tommy's, everything's great. Electric fence, no infected, anything. There's families, plenty of food, even plumbing because we have the hydroelectric plant."

Bill opened his mouth to speak, but Joel went on. "There's a place for you to live. All you have to do there is work as a mechanic. No more traps, nothing. You won't have to be worried about this place ever again. Hell, it might even help your paranoia." Joel said, his voice calming at the last few sentences.

Bill's eye widened. He hesitated while turning around, "I don't know."

"You do." Joel said quietly, merely over a whisper. "Bill, you don't want to be here."

No reply.

"Come on." Joel pleaded. Bill looked over to him with an odd expression. It wasn't mad, or sad. Just a plain, expressionless face. He stared at the ground and murmured,"Joel, I've.. Been here so long. I don't know if I can do it." His face distorted into a depressed frown.

"I'll give you some time to think." Joel said as he left the room, grabbing Ellie by the arm and walked out.


End file.
